Middlesbrough's link with Juninho's Ituano FC was back into the news this week after Brazilian winger Matheus Caliman joined the Under-23 ranks.

The 20-year-old has become the latest South American star to join Boro's development squad, a mutually-beneficial pathway that has been constructed ever since the two clubs struck up a partnership in 2013.

For Caliman, it's a chance to make a name for himself in English football. For Boro , they get to run the rule over a young player recommended from The Little Fella's ranks.

And for Ituano, the link with Boro brings with it exposure and potential financial profit.

But while many on Teesside will look forward to watching Caliman in action over the next few months, it's easy to forget there's already a young Brazilian on the Boro books - and he's making waves across Europe.

Striker Joao Morelli joined Boro in 2015 on a short-term deal, a window of opportunity for the front man to catch the eye in one of Europe's top leagues.

And while he initially found himself on the Under-23 fringes, he did enough to convince the Boro Academy staff to grant him a contract extension, which he signed in February.

Since then, things have taken off for Morelli. There's little doubt that 2017 has been a year to remember for the player.

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Currently on loan at Estonian top-flight side FC Levadia, the 21-year-old has scored 16 goals in 20 appearances this year - and has earned rave reviews for some clinical displays in front of goal.

He has just been crowned the Meistriliiga's 'best player' in the third part of the season, scoring eight goals and providing four assists between game weeks 19 and 27.

Levadia collected 16 points during that period to keep their Europa League qualification hopes alive.

As for the player, who is expected to return to Boro later this year, everything remains a learning curve - from living in a new city to honing his skills on-the-pitch.

He's far from the finished article. But his development has been promising.

"I know that Tallinn is not Europe's largest capital, but it is a very different experience than I have ever experienced in Itu and in England," Morelli told Brazilian publication UOL earlier in the summer.

"For the first time, for example, I live in a place that attracts a lot of tourists. It's the first time I've lived in a cosmopolitan city.

"I do not go out a lot, but here at least it's possible to get out a little bit whenever there's time off, and the number of restaurants is great too.

"To be honest, the plan was never to play in Estonia but in January the proposal arrived and it was attractive.

"Since we did not have many prospects at bigger (clubs), I decided to accept it. At Middlesbrough I would not have (played much) since it is the custom for English teams to lend younger players to gain experience.

"They wanted to do this with me, too. For me, it has turned out to be very positive."

So what has he made of Estonian football? Well the freezing conditions over the winter brought obvious complications.

And so too did the heavy expectation of arriving in Estonia as a Boro player, a young player from England's globally-renowned Premier League.

Middlesbrough's Joao Morelli (Image: Evening Gazette)

"The structure here is similar to that of Brazil," he explained. "Some clubs have good and great stadiums, others not so much, and the fans in (big games) show up.

"It's the first time I'm dealing with this, too. The pressure for being Brazilian, coming from a Premier League team. It's all new."

But despite a baptism of fire in icy Tallinn, Morelli has slowly found his feet and has settled - with the goals now flowing as a result.

"Now we are in the summer, but when I arrived I played with a lot of snow and it was complicated," he said.

"Some players, I think, were already accustomed but nobody told me what to expect. At the beginning it was difficult to face the lack of visibility, the frozen ball.

"Let's see if the end of the year will be so difficult."

As for the future? Morelli is expected to return to Boro at the end of the year to once again stake his claim.

While he showed momentary glimpses during his two years in the Under-23 ranks, his goalscoring record was modest - 11 goals in 41 matches in all competitions. But in mitigation, he was often asked to play out on the wing as he got to grips with the pace and physicality of the British game.

He was not lacking for work-rate, his application and attitude frequently praised by the Academy staff. But the killer touch that often separates promising young players with those destined for the top was, at times, lacking.

But the last six months have been huge for Morelli. A year in Levadia has helped him to find that ruthless streak.

And the hope on Teesside is that it could provide the springboard for his Boro career to really take off.